Jan. 10, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - The Endicott College women's basketball team won its seventh consecutive game on Saturday, downing Eastern Nazarene, 72-48, in The Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for each squad. The Gulls move to 9-3 (1-0 TCCC) with the win while the Crusaders drop to 3-8 (0-1 TCCC). Endicott was led by sophomore Ashley Vitale's (Wilmington, Mass.) 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds.
In the first half, the Crusaders were able to tie the score early at 6-6 on a jumper by Jessica Schoppee (Scarborough, Maine). After that, the Gulls would not look back, building leads in excess of 16 points while not allowing the game to get any closer than five points. Eastern Nazarene would cut the lead to eleven going into halftime as Danielle Koers (Attica, N.Y.) dropped in a layup as time expired to head into halftime with the score 41-30. The Gulls were able to convert 20 points off turnovers in the period on 10 turnovers by the Crusaders.
Endicott came out firing on all cylinders in the second frame as the Gulls quickly built an 18-point lead on a layup by Nicole Duchesne (Plaistow, N.H.) with 16 minutes to play in the half. Endicott turned up the defense and held Eastern Nazarene to 29.2% shooting and only 18 second half points en route to the 24-point victory.
The Gulls outscored the Crusaders on the interior as Endicott had 46 points in the paint compared to just 16 for Eastern Nazarene. Endicott scored 33 points off of 24 Crusaders turnovers and the Gulls had 22 assists on 30 made field goals.
Vitale led all scorers with 22 points while Duchesne chipped in with 15 points and two steals for the Gulls. Sophomore Brittany Kelleher (Wakefield, Mass.) led the Gulls on the boards with seven rebounds and Kaylin Burke (Leominster, Mass.) had six assists on the day. The Crusaders were led by Christine Tucker's (Antioch, Calif.) all around performance as she led the Crusaders with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Endicott returns to TCCC action on Tuesday when the Gulls host the red-hot Nichols College - winners of nine-straight - at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Nazarene welcomes Wentworth on Tuesday in TCCC action at 6:00 p.m.
